SoulThirst

Lent: An old-school tradition brought to life
Note to some of my more "academic" readers: Much of my description of Lent is put in layman's terms and takes a very practical approach to it. This is mainly for the benefit of my youth group kids, for whom this particular post is written for in describing Lent to them. More "meditative" and "theological" reflections will be forthcoming.

Everybody knows about Christmas and Easter, but not many know about Lent. Lent is a period of 40-days (and 6 Sundays) that start fron Ash Wednesday & goes till Easter. In the Bible, 40 is an important number: Jesus was in the desert for 40 days & was tempted there; Moses spent 40 years in the desert; the prophet Elijah walked in the desert for 40 days; etc. The number 40 had the meaning of "a complete time, a full time;" it was like saying "enough time has passed and things have run its course." Lent is not a very "joyful" time period, because of what it is preparing us for. If we were to fast-forward to 40 days later, we would see Christ being betrayed, arrested, unfairly tried, and then crucified. Lent was the time when Christians spent the 40 days giving extra time to praying and reading God's Word as part of preparing to remember Jesus Christ and the cross. During Lent, we remember the sufferings that Jesus patiently endured, both while he lived on earth and when he was crucified.

Why "celebrate" or remember Lent?
1. In all of Christian history, Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead are the most important events. Every year, Easter is marked on our calendars because it calls us to remember such an important event- not just as an event, but also what it means to us personally. When there is an important occasion coming up, usually it calls for being prepared for it. Because Easter is so important, it makes sense that we take a longer time to prepare for it (and we already looked at why 40 days was important)
2. We human beings are creatures of habit- we like patterns and we like doing the same things over & over. During Lent, we prepare ourselves by giving more time to prayer and reading God's Word because by doing that, it becomes habit to us; our attention is focused on it. This gives us a greater appreciation for what we are preparing for when it arrives.
3. It helps us "get into the story." For some of you, you've heard the "Easter story" so many times over the years that it seems a bit "boring" or "old" to you. Usually that's because we're not really "into" the story. To really get into it, it means like putting yourself as one of the characters, trying to imagine being in the setting, reading/watching/listening to the story being told in a fresh way, etc. The only way to get into it is to spend a lot of time in the story in the first place. Lent gives us 40 days to really get into the story, so that when Easter comes, we're into it, and it is meaningful to us.

How do you celebrate Lent?
Depending on how your church does it, there's no one right way. But here are some suggestions:
- Consider reading the gospel accounts of Jesus' final week on earth during your quiet times. (Matthew 26-28, Mark 14-15, Luke 22-24, John 13-21) Again, this is to help you "get into the story"
- Consider giving up something for the 40 days (AIM, TV, pop, etc.). This is not to "show that you're a good Christian" or to "earn points with God". It is an act of worship and of identifying with the sufferings of Christ. When we give up something that is meaningful to us, we are identifying with how Jesus gave up everything He had so that we would be saved. Don't just give up something that you don't value; if you give up something of value (i.e. something hard for you to give up), it helps you feel more of what Christ felt- after all, Christ gave up all the beauty and joys of heaven and even His own life.
- Consider fasting for 1 meal a day & taking the extra time to pray and/or read your Bible. Again, this is time to prepare yourself spiritually for remembering Christ and the significance of Easter.
You don't have to do these things; and doing them doesn't make you a better Christian and it certainly does not earn you "extra points" with God. These are options for you, things that will make Easter more meaningful to you.

posted by Andy Chang @ 2:45 PM